What's it like to take New Zealand's WORLD FAMOUS Ferry?

join us for this journey from New Zealand's stunning South Island to the more populated North Island by ferry you'll enjoy tons of onboard amenities peek inside the premium Lounge on board and best of all you'll see a place like no other on Earth on this [Music] hello jet Setters join us as we take a ferry from here in New Zealand's Marlboro wine region up to New Zealand's bustling capital on the north island Willie Blenheim and travel 30 minutes up to Picton by bus from there we'll board the inter-islander ferry for its 58 mile Journey it'll take us just over three hours to reach Wellington our bus was scheduled to leave from Blenheim at 11 30 so we got to the bus stop at 11 10. now Suzanne was a bit more nervous about our ferry ride than I was apparently the season to cook straight can be a bit rough now this route is kind of known to have some rough weather and rough Seas at times so I'm just checking the swell forecast today it's looking pretty good um swells up to about one to two meters only hopefully one to two meter swells are manageable we booked our bus tickets separately from our Ferry tickets and as departure time came and went we got worried as each passing bus failed to stop the bus was due here about 20 minutes ago and there's no sign I absolutely hate being late but the good news is we've got some buffer time in Picton before the ferry leaves so we should still be okay it's just this frustration of waiting keep your fingers crossed finally exactly 30 minutes late that's it just over there the ride was easy enough we have no intermediate stops and we're in Picton at the ferry port only 30 minutes after we left Blenheim we checked our bags and then found a place to check out the ferry [Music] [Music] we book tickets with access to the inner Islander plus Lounge which is located on Deck 7. we did that because we think there's a little extras available to us in that class of service we really don't know what to expect we love trips like this where there are surprises built in for you and for us booking was extremely easy on the website which is linked below once you select your date you'll have a range of Base ticket options depending on how flexible you want to be from there you can select extras like bringing a bike a kayak or even getting access to various lounges on board even private cabins the price is of course vary depending on dates inside the ferry terminal there was plenty of seating but limited views our journey today would be on board kaitaki launched in 1995 it's the oldest and largest of the four fairies in the fleet about an hour before departure an announcement was made and boarding for pedestrian passengers began we walked along a gangway and were then in the parking area of the ship [Music] foreign [Music] we made our way upstairs and were immediately overwhelmed by how much there was to do on this ship level 2 had a cinema and a kids playground which we missed levels three four and five were for vehicles on level seven well there's a nursery at a cafe two lounges including the premium Lounge which we could access more on that later [Music] on level 8 we found even more lounges a gift shop two more restaurants this fairy is massive it just keeps going there's still two more floors deck nine is just nothing but cabins and up on level 10 well that's the viewing deck which is open depending on weather and we lucked out [Music] but our first stop would be the kaitaki plus Lounge the lounge was in a secluded part of the ship and included Wi-Fi food and a full bar a complete buffet was available even before we left the dock access to this Lounge cost an extra 80 New Zealand Dollars over the base fare as always check the operator's website for the most current pricing and schedule information I'll link it below but don't think you have to book the lounge to have a great time on this ship there are plenty of spaces everyone on board can access and that's good because kaitaki can carry up to 1400 passengers [Music] sure debt 10 is pretty incredible with its sweeping views it's a fantastic place to hang out on days like this when the weather's great but ultimately we decided to head back down to the open area on Deck 7. this is incredible and we haven't even left yet we found a great perch to watch the cars roll onto the ferry what an operation this was this outdoor deck on level seven is pretty amazing and just I think almost as good as the one up on 10. there's not much of a forward view up there so I think we'll hang out down here but for now while we wait to set off we're gonna head back to the lounge the lounge was great the seating and tables were comfortable there were plenty of plugs but the Wi-Fi was limited and a bit slow but with the views we're about to encounter who needs wi-fi oh and the food was way more substantial than we'd expected we thought we might get a few snacks but this was a complete lunch foreign this food is so good or should I say was but it's time to pull away from Picton and start our way to Wellington our three-hour trip starts with a bang as we leave Queen Charlotte's sound [Music] [Applause] [Music] we decided to head back down to deck 7 which offered views nearly as good as those on the top deck but with a bit more protection from the wind not to mention much better views of the back of the ship [Music] foreign Charlotte sound is the easternmost of the Marlborough sounds and thanks to the Tory Channel inner Island fairies like this one use this as the main access to Picton now this ferry service is owned and operated by kiwi rail the same operators of the train we take in from Greymouth a couple of days before the current Fleet of fairies will be replaced soon by larger newer ones that will even be able to carry the railroad cars the first hour of this trip is breathtaking at every turn as this massive ship made its way out of Queen Charlotte's sound you'll definitely want to be outside for this part the swell inside the sound was virtually non-existent but what would happen when we passed out into the open ocean to cook straight well we were about to find out [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Ed welcome to the Cook Strait [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the Seas were noticeably more rough than inside the sound but according to the crew this was nothing compared to what they can experience out here even still we decided to head back to our seats in a lounge [Music] found the gentle rocking of the vessel to be relaxing [Music] meanwhile here in a lounge the crew had set out afternoon tea and dessert [Music] upstairs in the bar a band was playing sea shanties the Myriad restaurants on board were keeping everyone well fed even the shop was doing a lively business but we couldn't take our eyes off the views in about an hour and a half after entering it we were out of the Cook Strait we're in Wellington Harbor should be hopping off here in no time at all [Music] that plane is going to Blenheim takes about 15 minutes a little faster than our trip but that Dash 8 does not have any of the amenities of this massive ship so as Wellington comes into view let's rate the experience with a gem score will unscientifically rate the lounge the seat the food the entertainment and the service first the lounge was a real highlight at 80 New Zealand dollars on top of the ticket it was pretty steep but getting lunch and a full bar not to mention a safe place to leave our things was worth it to us five stars here second the seats were all comfortable and there were plenty of them but there wasn't anything too remarkable three stars here the food was way more than we'd expected it was all tasty although we didn't try all the restaurants we're going with four stars now the entertainment was impressive Not only was there a band playing but there was an even a movie showing a Top Gun five stars here the service was subdued everyone we encountered was friendly and happy to be on board and to work with us but there wasn't much proactive service we encountered four stars here would we travel on board the inner Islander again you bet all told that's 21 out of 25 stars for the inter-islander ferry service from Picton to Wellington on board kaitaki join now in the next time see on the Seas [Music] they're loading the cars right here so what do you think you think of Wellington looks like a bustling a bustling capital city uh the scenery was great but not really a boat person let's get back in the air

Channel: Jeb Brooks

Views: 186,034

Keywords: Interislander, Interislander Ferry, Interislander Wellington to Picton, Interislander Picton to Wellington, Ferry, New Zealand, New Zealand Travel Guide, New Zealand Ferry, Ferry in New Zealand, Great Journeys of New Zealand, Kaitaki, Interislander Kaitaki, Interislander Ferry Booking, Interislander Ferry Review, Interislander Plus Lounge, Kaitaki Plus Lounge, How to Cross the Cook Strait, Cook Strait, Luxury Ferry in New Zealand, Luxury Travel, new zealand ferry

Id: LGdsFB7lzDU

Length: 10min 42sec (642 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 17 2022